Reviewed: Visions Of Light – ‘Mycelium Bloom’ [NuNorthern Soul]
Updated: 1 day ago
There is something particularly satisfying about electronic music that refuses to hurry. On ‘Mycelium Bloom’, Visions Of Light make a virtue of taking their time, allowing basslines, guitar phrases and drifting electronics to settle into grooves that reveal their details gradually.
The follow-up to 2025’s ‘The Mandela Vortex’ finds Simon Sheldon, Muzka and Dan Dub Lounge pushing their Balearic and dub influences into more psychedelic territory. The trio’s familiar warmth remains, but the arrangements are increasingly interested in strange textures, unexpected sounds and the space between musical elements.
Opener ‘Split The Scene’ establishes that direction through acidic squelches, deep bass and languid percussion. Its ambient dub foundations give the electronics room to wander without disturbing the track’s unhurried pulse. ‘All The Best Things’ takes a more expansive route, bringing desert blues influences into a sound that recalls the exploratory spirit of early ’90s chill-out rooms.
‘Holding Jupiter’ continues that immersion, with effects-laden guitars, dreamy chords and low-tempo rhythms creating the feeling of music unfolding around the listener rather than pushing towards a conventional peak.
The album’s more playful side emerges on ‘B Town’, where a summery skank brings the trio’s rootsier influences to the surface. ‘Radiant Flux’ finds a natural balance between Balearic atmosphere and dancefloor movement, while ‘Perfect You’ introduces a more personal dimension through Richard Dormer’s words and Luis Vilca’s flute.
‘Let Go’ offers another reminder of the trio’s melodic instincts, favouring gentle development and warmth over dramatic shifts. On the digital edition, ‘Saru’ and ‘Mirage’ extend the journey into off-kilter deep dub and jazzier, sample-rich territory respectively.
What distinguishes ‘Mycelium Bloom’ is the relationship between its reassuring grooves and its more exploratory production. The psychedelic elements rarely overwhelm the music’s underlying warmth, while the dub foundations prevent its ambient passages from becoming directionless.
Visions Of Light have not abandoned the sound established on their debut. They have found more interesting places to take it, producing an album that feels equally suited to a late-night listening session, a sun-drenched afternoon or the quieter corners of a dancefloor.
